Clasp or buckle



1 UNITED STVNIEVSj PATENT OFFICE.

V .JAMES aMAoMILLAN, on cIIIoAoo, ILLINOIS.

CLAsPoR BUCKLE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,067, dated August30, 1887.

Application filed April 25, 1887. l Serial No. 235,972. (No model.) I

` To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, J AMES R. MACMILLAN, yf Chicago, in the county ofCook and State Illinois, have invented certain new and IsefulImprovements in Buckles; and I do nereby declare that the following is afull, clear,

' exact description thereof, reference being y i to the accompanyingdrawings, 'and to the ters of reference marked thereon, which K:I a partof this specilication.

lhis invention relates to a novel snap clasp A) r buckle adapted for'detaehably connecting 'the ends of straps or ropes with each other, ordetachably connecting a strap or rope with si Yieother object.

4 e invention consists in matters hereinattei described, and pointed outin the appen ded claims.

,.ifhe invention may be more readily under- :iwtood by reference to theaccompanying drawngs, in which- Y Figure l is a perspective view of abuckl illustrating a preferred embodiment of my in- -ention. Fig. 2 is aface view of the same, showing the parts thereof separate from eachother, a portion of the main part or shank of the buckle being shown insection taken upon line :uw of Fig. 3. l Fig..3 is a longitudinalsection, taken upon line .s a: of Fig. 2, showing the parts of thebuckleconnected with each other. Fig. 4 is a face view of a bucklediffering somewhat from the one shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 5 is asectional view of the same, taken upon line a' x of Fig. 4.

As shown in said iigures of the drawings, A is the main body or hookportion of the device, consisting of a shank provided with a hook, a, atone end and having a loop, A', at the other for attachment to a strap,B.

C is the eye 7 portion of the snap, having an open eye or loop, c, forengagement with the hook a, and a closed loop, c', for attachment to astrap, B. .The open eye c is constituted of two inwardly-directedprongs, o2 c2, which engage the hook aby extending around the oppositesides of the latter, as indicated in Fig. 2,.

D is a tongue, stop-piece, or detent, which in this instance is pivotedbetween its ends to the shank of the hooked part A at a considerabledistance back of the hook with its front en d surface normally standingacross the opening of theihook a and adjacent to the point or edge ofthe latter, as shown in Figs.

1 and 3. The pivot or axis d' of the detent D is so arranged that thefront end of the detent will swing toward and from the shank A in adirection transverse to the point of the hook a and in a positionproximate thereto.

D is a suitable spring arranged between the detent and the shank of thehook to throw the front end of the detent inwardly. Commonly the inwardmovement of the detent will be arrested by the striking or resting ofthe detent against the hook-shank, as also indicated in Figs. l and 3;but any other stop may be provided.

The front end of the detent D is in the form of a cross-bar, d, and theneck or body of the detent just back of this cross-bar d is of suitablewidth to pass between the free ends of the prongs c2 c2 of the eye c. Asalso shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, illustrating this form of the detent,the under and rear surfaces of the projecting parts of the cross-bar dare beveled forwardly and inwardly, so that by first dropping the prongsc2 c2 of the open eye c behind the cross-bar d and then drawing the eyeforwardly or toward the hook et the prongs of the eye will lift thecrossebar and pass beneath it into the hook. To release the eye from thehook the rearen'd of the detent will be depressed, thereby raising thefront end or the end adjacent to the hook a, and allowing the prongs a?a2 to be moved backwardly beneath the cross-bar and outwardly behind it.

'In either inserting or removing the eye in the construction abovedescribed the detent is not lifted beyond the end of the hook a, and theprongs of the eye c do not pass between the detent and said hook.

To give additional stiffnessv and rigidity to the hook a,I have hereinshown the middle part of said hook as provided with an integral web orfillet, a', which fills the otherwise unoccupied space between the endsof the prongs c2 c2, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The employment of thisfilling-piece is not, however, essential to the making of an operativedevice of the character shown. v

For the purpose of giving a neat and smooth iinish to the parts the mainpart of the detent D is tted within a recess,A2, in the shank A, withits top surface flush with the adjacent side parts of the said shank, asclearly shown in Fig. l, and the spring D is located within the recessof the shank A beneath the detent in a manner clearly shown in Fig. 3.Such IOO spring D may be arranged in any desired manner; but as hereinshown it has the form of a leaf-spring attached at one end to the shankA, and pressing at its opposite or free end upwardly or outwardlyagainst the under surface of the said detent D.

I have herein shown the end of thc detent I),upon which the finger isplaced for moving the detent, as flush with the adjacent sides of theshank, so that said end of the detent is depressed into the recess A`when the finger is pressed thereon in the manner indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 3. If preferred, this end of the detent D may be providedwith a knob or projection, d3, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. land 3, to enable it to be more conveniently actuated by the nger.

It will of course be understood that as far as the main features ofconstrn ction shown and described are concerned the device may beinodifiedin form and details without depart, ure from my invention-as,for instance, the shank A of the buckle may be provided with anysuitable means for attachment to a rope or to an object with which it isdesired to.detaehably connect a strap or rope, or the open eye or loop cmay be similarly adapted for attachment to a rope or to a stationaryobject by means other than the loop c.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown a snap or buckle generally similar to thatillustrated in the preceding figures, and above described, but differingtherefrom in certain particulars, which will be here pointed out. First,the eye Chas a continuous cross-bar, c4, in place of the separatedprongs c2 cY of the preceding figures, giving a closed loop or eye, c,for engagement with the hook a; second, the fillet or rib a of thepreceding figures is omitted, and, third, the detent (here marked E) isnot necessarily T-shaped. In this case, in engaging the eye with thehook the end c of the detent is raised beyond the hook a far enough toadmit the cross-bar c4 of the eye C between the detent and the end ofthehook, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5. The construction shown insaid Figs. 4 and 5 therefore contains only part of the improvementsillustrated by the preceding figures. The principal feature common toallfigures of the drawings is a detent having at one end an outward andinward movement with respect to the shank across and adjacent to thepoint of the hook, said detent, when at the inner extremity of itsmovement, standing adjacent to the shank and with its end surface acrossthe opening of the hook, so that by said end surface it retains the eyefrom escape.

In a snap buckle or clasp made as last above described the other partsthereof than those referred to may be made as shown in Figs. l, 2, and3, or otherwise, as desired. I have shown a spring, E', as applied tohold the detent E in its folded or closed position, said spring beingarranged like the spring D. (Shown in Fig. 3.)

A snap or buckle comprising a shank having a lateral hook at one end anda detent pivoted to the shank at a point remote from the hook and havingits end movable toward and from the shank across the end of the hook andadapted to stand with its endsurfaceacross the hook-opening when closed,so as to thereby confine the eye within the hook, as illustrated in bothforms of the device here shown, has the advantage of being much thinnerand more compact than such hooks as herotofore constructed, and suchimproved construction is intended to be embraced in my following claims.

I claim as my invention--` l. A clasp, snap, or buckle constructedsubstantially as herein set forth, comprising a shank provided at oneend with a hook, a detent pivoted to the shank at a point remote fromthe hook and having one of its ends movable laterally toward and fromthe shank across and adjacent to the'end of the hook, said end of thedetent, when the latter is closed, standing across the hook-opening forthe retention of the eye within the hook, substantially as described.

2. A clasp, snap, or buckle constructed substantially as described,comprising a shank provided with a hook, a detent inovably mounted onthe shank and having a cross-bar at itsv end which, when at rest, standsacross the hook-opening, and an open eye adapted to pass behindY andbeneath the said cross-bar into the hook, substantially as set forth.

3. A clasp, snap, or buckle constructed substantially as described,comprising a shank provided with a hook, a detent pivoted to the shankand provided at one end with a crossbar, which, when the snap is closed,stands across the opening of the hook, a spring arranged to hold thedetent in position to thus close the hook opening, and an open eyeadapted to pass behind and beneath the crossbar into the hook,substantially as described.

4. A snap, clasp, or buckle constructed substantially as herein setforth, comprising a shank provided with a hook, a movable T- shapeddetent mounted on the shank and adapted to close the opening of thehook, the transverse part or cross-bar of the said detent being inclinedor beveled upon its rear or ICO inner surface, a spring applied to holdthe said detent normally in position to close the opening of the hook,and an open eye or loop adapted to pass behind and beneath the crossbarinto the loop adapted to pass behind and beneath the cross-bar into thehook, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES It. MACMILLAN.

VVilnesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLn, CHARLus T. LonING.

